


four or five moments

by alliyupp



Category: DCU (Comics), Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27373765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alliyupp/pseuds/alliyupp
Summary: that's all it takes to be a hero.a series of one shots where heroes help civilians in everday life.character and tag list will be updates as i go on!
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	four or five moments

**Author's Note:**

> just a heads up, this chapter includes a character contemplating suicide, it's not anything graphic but still has depressing thoughts.

Metropolis really was a beautiful city. Especially if you were up high, the sleek, modern buildings reflecting the sunlight looked even more beautiful. She looked at the skyscrapers, apartments and hotels. From this far up the windows looked like little boxes, the people in there tiny and yet – they all had their own big stories. 

She squinted and tried to focus on a window in one of the hotels. The lights were already on, even though the sun just started going down. Weird. Maybe the person was afraid of the dark? Or maybe they just didn't care about the environment, what, they really need the lights on already? 

It was funny, really. She would never find out but still the mind made up fun little stories about people. Pick and choose, what to believe, be understanding or judgemental – in the end, it doesn't really matter. She would never find out. So why care?

She gripped the edge of the flat roof a little harder and let her legs dangle. Like a kid. On a swing, before you start swinging full force, or on a chair that's too high. That was fun. "Hold your legs still", her mom would say and she didn't understand why, it was fun, why should she stop? As a kid you just assume adults know better, but when you start to grow up you realize there really is no reason to why they say and want all the things they do. There really was just no reason at all as to why, was there. Someone wanted something and she had to do it. It was tiring, really, doing something only because other people wanted it. 

Once she realized that, she started to do things out of spite; "You shouldn't cut your hair, it's so pretty."  
Chop.  
Didn't even hestitate while cutting it off, her reflection staring back at her in the badly lit bathroom mirror and she tried to find something in her eyes, she didn't know what, but she kept looking and searching and maybe-  
Whatever it was, she didn't find it. Maybe it disappeared a long time ago. Maybe she never even had it.

"You're only 19, you can't move out! You can't even take care of yourself, how will you survive in a big city!?"  
That was two years ago. She closed her eyes and tried to picture Metropolis behind her eyelids. Just moved here two years ago, but she knew so much of it already. It really seemed like a dream, with it's tall skyscrapers and the nice cars and the bustling streets. She never forgot why she moved here. 

When you're young and start to lose hope that there's any good in the world, there's probably not a kid on the world that doesn't look at Superman as a beacon of hope. Maybe, she thought, if she moved to Metropolis, she would also adopt a more positive attitude. Be more active, find new friends and actually be…happy.

It didn't work.

Finding a job was hard, finding an apartment was even harder and finding friends? Impossible.  
Everyone was so busy these days, never time to rest, to focus on your hobbies, the things that bring you joy. Instead, she came home every day after work, dead tired and just laid in bed.

Well, the good thing is, having no friends meant she went out less, which meant she saved money and that meant she was actually able to afford to move into a new, better apartment. Three months ago. A majority of the boxes were still unopened. A part of her wanted to call her mother, rub it in her face; "See! I did it! I survived in this big city!"  
But that was it, wasn't it? She didn't live. She just survived.  
Not that it mattered.  
Opening her eyes again she looked at Metropolis. It got dark pretty quickly, the night falling over the city in a matter of seconds. It was even prettier at night. 

She was glad the last thing she was going to see was this beautiful.

She looked down. Everyone, everything looked so tiny from up here. The fall would be long but then it would…stop. Still, realizing how high she was really up made her stomach drop. Looking down, she almost didn't notice the blue streak that stopped next to her.

Almost.

She looked at him and raised a hand to wave. If Superman was confused to find a civilian this high up on a building, he didn't show it. Instead, he gave a small smile and waved back. He seemed hestitant, she noted. "Evening, supes'." Her legs dangled precariously over the roof and she saw Supermans eyes flick to them for a second, but he quickly looked her in the eyes again and kept smiling. Did he know? "Good evening. Mind if I sit next to you?" She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "Why? You can fly, you're doing it right now." She pointed at him to illustrate her point and he laughed, short and maybe…kind of awkward?  
Huh. Cute.  
"Yes, but it's still to enjoy a view like this sitting, isn't it?" _Is that why you're up here or is there another reason?_ Was the unspoken question. She shrugged and patted the place next to her. "Sure, I don't mind." She gave a reassuring smile and he sat next to her. They both went quiet and just looked at the city.

She tried to find the window again that she focused earlier on, but she couldn't find it. Tried to ignore Superman glancing at her and kept dangling her legs. Looking at him, she asked: "Soo… is it okay for you to be up here?"  
When he looked at her in question she just gestured toward the city. "I mean, isn't there someone you need to save right now? Someone…stuck in a burning building or something? A cat stuck in a tree? You gotta have something better to do than just…sit up here." He smiled again, the wind slightly tousling his hair and shrugged. "Not right now, no. If there is someone in danger, I'll notice it right away, don't worry." She blinked. "How?" Superman just tapped at his ear, a knowing smile. "Super-hearing. Really comes in handy." "Ah." She nodded in understanding and leaned back.

They let a comfortable silence settle between them, before Superman broke it with his soft voice. Man, he really had a nice voice. "So, why are you up here? You know…", his tone became a little more serious as his smile faded, but not enough that she thought she was in danger, "civilians aren't allowed up here. You could fall down."  
_Oh, but that's the plan, Supes._  
She sat straight up again and looked at him, before she looked at the city. "You know, when life gets a little too much, I like to remind myself how…small I am. Look at this city. There's so many people here, living their own lives and having their own problems. I'm just one of them. Like, look, right there!" She suddenly stood up and she could see Supermans hands reaching out a fraction, in case she fell – or jumped – and pointed at a freeway. "See all these cars? All these people probably got off work and are so annoyed that they're stuck in traffic right now. And everyone has another reason why. Maybe they wanna get back to their familes, or their pets or their partners. Or no one at all and just want to spend time alone. And that's so many people, but there's still so many on this world." She sat back down and rested her head on her knees. "You probably can't relate, but realizing how insignificant my life is in the grand sheme of things is really comforting, you know? Because in the end, my problems don't matter. Doesn't matter that I still havent opened my moving boxes, or that my TV broke a few days ago. Or…", she felt a lump form in her throat but she still kept going, because, fuck, it really felt so nice to have someone listen, and who cares, right? It was her last night anyway. "Or…or that my Mom hasn't called me in two years and I've been in this damn city for so long and I still couldn't find any friends and that there really is no point in anything so me dying really doesn't matter, you know?"  
She didn't know when the tears came, but her cheeks were streaked with them. Still, she looked at Superman and smiled, a small hiccup making her way up her throat as she tried to wipe some of the tears away but more just kept coming. He reached a hand out slowly and put it on her shoulder. When she didn't move away, he softly pulled her towards him and put his other arm around her too. And wow, that really was what opened the floodgates. She hadn't been hugged in so long.

Superman didn't say anything at first, but just listening to his calm breathing and his heartbeat really gave her something to focus on and calmed her down. He was stroking her hair and her sobs slowly started to die down. She took a deep breath and tried to steady her breathing. His calm voice broke the silence. "It does matter." A bitter laugh came out of her and she looked up at him. "To who? And don't say it matters to you, because that's just going to sound forced." He gave a sad smile and kept stroking her hair. Wow, did he know how nice that felt?  
"It matters to you. Even if your life is not going great right now, you can only fix it if you stay alive."  
She hiccuped again and wiped away at her wet cheeks. Looking into his eyes was too hard, they were too kind, too warm, so she looked at the 'S' on his chest instead. She read somewhere that on his planet it stood for Hope.  
"That sounds…exhausting. Dying sounds easier."  
He just huffed and kept looking at her. "It might, but I think if you really had given up all hope you would have tried jumping already." She thought about it for a second, then blinked and looked at him in confusion. "Tried?" He just grinned and ruffled her hair. "Well, obviously I would have caught you."  
She was silent for a second and then burst out laughing. He gave a small laugh too and loosened his grip on her a little.  
"Wow you…really are a little cocky aren't you?" Superman just shrugged and kept on grinning, which made her giggle again. It felt weird to laugh when there were still tears on her cheeks, but then again, this whole situation was kind of weird. 

It was still nice though. 

When the wind picked up, she put her around herself and looked at Superman, who didn't seem bothered at all. "Do you not get cold when you're in the air this long?" He just put a hand through his hair, to get them a little in order again. "I don't get cold at all, actually." She snorted and looked down again. "Of course."  
Superman followed her gaze and then looked at her. "I don't carry an extra cape with me, but if you're cold, I could get you down?"  
She let the question linger and really thought about what agreeing to that would mean. No going back, actually try to make her life better and fight against the feeling of hopelessness that seemed to accompany her everyday.

But now, for some reason she had Hope.

She looked at Superman and smiled.  
"Sure, sounds like a good idea."

**Author's Note:**

> this work has not been beta-ed so if you see any mistakes please lmk!!


End file.
